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Since 1984, not a lot has changed in terms of the two things that we use to converse with our desktop and laptop computers - keyboards and mice/trackpads. That's why when fellow TUAW editor Dave Caolo pointed me towards a fascinating Kickstarter project named KeyMouse, I thought I'd better pass along the news to TUAW readers.

KeyMouse is a Bluetooth keyboard with a big difference; it splits the traditional QWERTY keyboard into two halves, one for each hand. Your hand sits comfortable atop a central "bulge" that keeps your fingers in the proper position for ergonomic typing, and the entire KeyMouse moves as an optical mouse.

There are a ton of buttons that you can customize to your needs, whether you're a gamer or using the keyboard and mouse combo for design work.

The prototypes were shown at CES 2015 in early January, and the team is now about 41 percent funded with 11 days to go in the campaign. Anyone who's looking for a much more comfortable and natural way to type and mouse around the screen might want to back the project for US$249 or more.

Since its inception in the mid-'60s, the "mouse," as it came to be known, has morphed and mutated into a diverse assortment of styles to accommodate efficiency, ergonomics and portability. In this week's Rewind we surf through the history of the device from its humble beginnings to its current futuristic incarnations. %Gallery-slideshow248853%

Samsung has just unveiled the EyeCan+, a next-gen version of its eye-tracking mouse. Positioned below a monitor, it helps people with disabilities write and edit documents or surf the web using eye movement and blinking. Created as a a labor of love by Samsung engineers on their own time, the new version has major improvements over the original 2012 model, largely thanks to quadriplegic grad student Hyung-Jin Shin. Through 17 months of extensive use, he helped the team refine the UI to make it as easy to use as possible. Though it won't take the EyeCan+ to market, Samsung will build a limited number for charity organizations. As before, it will also create open-source documents for the design and software, letting any individual or company commercialize it.

If a new Indiegogo project has its way, you could soon be waving goodbye to that old, beloved mouse of yours. Meet Flow, a small gadget that pairs with your desktop or laptop and can be programmed with shortcuts to your most frequently used actions. At launch, Flow is said to offer support for more than 30 applications, including popular ones like Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, Premiere, SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube. With Spotify, for example, you could set up Flow to skip tracks by simply making a swipe gesture over the device, among other things. Right now, most of Flow's information points to the peripheral being used with desktops or laptops, but the company does note that there could be support for mobile applications in the future. The Flow Indiegogo page appears to be doing really well thus far, so be sure to check out the crowdfunding page if you want to see this get made.

Researchers have had success growing organs in controlled lab environments, but repeating that feat inside a complex, messy animal body? That's more than a little tricky. However, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have managed that daunting feat for the first time. They've grown thymus glands inside lab mice by "reprogramming" the genes in tissue-regenerating cells and partnering those with support cells. The team didn't have to use scaffolds or other "cheats" to trigger the growth; it just injected the cells and waited. There weren't even any obvious limitations. The organs were full size (unlike the baby-like results from some experiments), and they were just as efficient at producing virus-fighting T-cells as the real deal.

When it comes to gaming mice, it's not entirely surprising that it's close to impossible to find a mouse that even remotely fits the aesthetic of Apple. The Razer Taipan is one of the rare gaming mice that is offered in such a shade, and if I'm being completely honest, its creamy white paintjob is one of the things I love most about it. But it's not all about looks, and thankfully -- aside from a few niggles -- the Taipan is great piece of gaming hardware in function as well as form.

The Taipan is an ambidextrous mouse, meaning it's symmetrical. Whether or not you'll appreciate this design choice is a matter of personal preference, but if you're used to something like the SteelSeries Rival or Razer Naga, it will take some getting used to.

The color of the review unit, as previously mentioned, is a gorgeous white, though the Taipan is also available in black. The mouse surface, save for the rubberized grips on either side, is glossy, which can often spell trouble for gamers with particularly sweaty hands. Luckily, the grips are extremely comfortable and contoured in such a way that even long, intense play sessions didn't cause me any tactile trouble. If you're absolutely against the idea of a glossy mouse, the black version of the Taipan has a matte finish, which may be more to your liking.

In terms of aesthetics, It's an undeniably appealing design from front to back. At just 36mm tall, it's significantly flatter than the 43mm height of Razer's own Naga, and it's also longer. The sleeker form is great for big hands, and while I've had cramping issues with many mice in the past, that was not a factor in my testing of the Taipan.

There's a pair of programmable buttons on either side of the mouse, above each of the rubberized grips. The fact that the mouse is ambidextrous means that while one set of buttons is easy to tap with your thumb, the set on the opposite side is, well, a bit useless. This is really my only complaint about the Taipan's design, as I found myself accidentally tapping the unused side buttons with my ring finger at random times. It was more of an issue early on, but over time my grip adapted and I was able to mostly avoid it.

Functionality

Precise and accurate, the Taipan is classic Razer performance at its best. It employs dual sensors to provide faultless accuracy no matter the play surface. Soft mat, hard mat, tabletop -- it doesn't matter to the Taipan. It's like a world-class runner who doesn't care if they're running on concrete, gravel, grass, or a pond.

The Taipan is short on goofy extra features, but as a pure gaming mouse, it's hard to beat. It's sleek and solid with remarkable accuracy in virtually any setting, and the fact that Razer takes Mac gaming seriously enough to provide the full Synapse 2.0 experience on OS X is like icing on an already delicious cake.

A single precariously-placed side button is really the only thing that kept my time with the Taipan from being perfect, but that shouldn't stop you from making it a top priority in your search for a new gaming mouse.

There's only about a month to go until the start of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and Logitech is getting fans all over the globe ready by creating a new series of wireless mice called the Logitech Global Fan Collection.

The mouse is the Wireless Mouse M317 (US$29.99), which uses Logitech's proprietary Unifying receiver. What makes each mouse special is the bright casing that surrounds it -- the company has created 13 different graphics to celebrate countries that are playing in the World Cup. The mice available to consumers is based on location; for Americans, you can get a mouse for the USA, Mexico, Argentina, and host country Brazil.

Your mouse uses a replaceable AA battery for power, and from my previous experience with Logitech's wireless optical mice, they're able to keep up accurate pointing and clicking for months on that single battery.

In case you're wondering what a caxirola is, well, it's the official noisemaker of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Much more pleasant on the ears than those obnoxious vuvuzelas of past World Cup events. And with that, we're going to give two TUAW readers a chance to win one of the Global Fan Collection mice! Here are the rules for the giveaway:

Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.

The entry must be made before June 2, 2014 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.

You may enter only once.

Two winners will be selected in a random drawing. One will receive a USA Wireless Mouse m317 while the other will get the Mexican version. Both mice are valued at $29.99 each.

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accessoriesbluetooth mousecarixolaFIFA World Cup 2014giveawayglobal fan collectionlogitechMacmouseThu, 29 May 2014 13:00:00 -040016|20894908http://www.tuaw.com/2014/03/10/steve-jobs-on-mouse-design-and-how-the-apple-pro-mouse-was-conce/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=TUAW.com&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.tuaw.com/2014/03/10/steve-jobs-on-mouse-design-and-how-the-apple-pro-mouse-was-conce/http://www.tuaw.com/2014/03/10/steve-jobs-on-mouse-design-and-how-the-apple-pro-mouse-was-conce/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=TUAW.com#commentsThough Apple popularized the mouse when it introduced the Mac in 1984, the company hasn't always been a bastion of popular, or even elegant, mouse design. For instance, Apple's hockey puck mouse, originally introduced with the Bondi Blue iMac, is a perfect example of utilitarian design gone astray. Indeed, the mouse is largely considered one of the worst Apple product flops of all-time.

In the wake of the forgettable hockey puck mouse, Apple had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a successor. On this note, Cult of Mac was able to chat with Abraham Farag, a former senior mechanical engineer of product design at Apple.

Farag details how he and his team ended up coming up with the successor to the hockey puck mouse simply by happenstance.

"It all started with a model we did not have time to finish," he says. "We had made six of these great form models to show Steve," he recalls. "They were fully done, with all the parting lines cut in for buttons and different plastic parts, and all the colors just right." At the last minute, the design team had decided to create a model that would echo the look of the Topolino mouse which shipped prior to the hockey puck. The only problem was, the model wasn't finished. They hadn't had time to draw buttons on to the model to indicate where they would go.

"It looked like a grey blob," Farag says. "We were going to put that model into a box so people wouldn't see it." However, when Jobs turned up things went awry.

"Steve looked at the lineup of potential forms and made straight for the unfinished one," Farag says.

"That's genius," he said. "We don't want to have any buttons."

"That's right, Steve," someone else piped up. "No buttons at all.

Of course, this entailed more work for Farag and his team as they now actually had to design the mouse that so excited Jobs. They eventually figured things out and arrived at a design that would become known as the Apple Pro Mouse. Originally released in 2000, the Apple Pro Mouse was also notable for being the first Apple mouse to discard the age-old trackball in favor of an optical tracking system.

Providing a bit more insight into Jobs' psyche as it applied to design, Farag relays that Jobs was vehemently opposed in principle to the idea of a multi-button mouse. You see, Jobs believed that if a UI was intuitive enough and designed with great care and precision, "you should be able to do everything you needed to do with one button."

There's rarely news in the world of Mac pointing devices, primarily because the computers all come with either Apple's Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, or a built-in trackpad of some type. That's why I found it interesting when I was pitched the Rapoo T120P Wireless Touch Mouse, a compact mouse that has some features that could make it worth a look for those in need of a replacement Mac mouse.

Specifications

Price: $US59.99 MSRP, widely available for less than $40

Colors: Yellow, Green, Red, White, Black

Power: Two AA batteries

Transmission frequency range: 5 GHz

Includes: USB receiver dongle

Design Highlights

Perhaps you're bored with the standard old white mouse or aluminum trackpad. The Rapoo T120P is going to wake you up -- at least one of these in yellow, green or red. The yellow unit I tested was actually quite attractive in a playful kind of way...

I'm not sure I like the idea of having to use one of my USB ports to plug in a receiver dongle. Why manufacturers choose to do this instead of just using standard old Bluetooth connectivity is beyond me.

The bottom of the Rapoo T120P is easily removed, revealing the battery holders and a small nook for the dongle. That's quite useful, actually, as it ensures that you're not going to lose the dongle when transporting the mouse.

%Gallery-slideshow183469%

The top surface of the mouse includes clickable left and right mouse buttons as well as a center "Smart Touch Zone." This zone includes vibration feedback when you're scrolling, which is quite different. It feels like some of the older "touch wheel" mice that provided similar feedback when using the wheel to scroll. The difference? You also feel the vibration when scrolling from side to side with the Smart Touch Zone.

Functionality Highlights

I'm always a bit wary of accessories that come in a box with a "Design for Windows 8" sticker on them. It was only when I turned the box over and found that the Rapoo T120P was indeed Mac compatible that I relaxed a little bit.

I easily opened the bottom of the mouse, filled the battery slots with my Apple rechargeable batteries, and then flipped the power switch on. Of course, it did nothing until I plugged in the receiver dongle. Immediately my iMac (running OS X Mavericks 10.9.2) decided that I had just plugged in some sort of USB keyboard and tried running me through a wizard to recognize the type of keyboard. I just canceled the wizard and the mouse ran perfectly. Rapoo might, however, want to warn Mac users of this in their scant instructions or on their website.

The T120P has a really good feel to it for an optical mouse, fitting comfortably into my admittedly small hands. There are two Teflon bands on the bottom that allows the mouse to slide effortlessly over most surfaces, and the left and right mouse buttons worked as they should without any setup required.

I found the "touch" feature of the T120P -- the vibration feedback -- to be very useful. With some other mice you're never really sure if your finger is truly causing scrolling to occur -- here, it's obvious when you're scrolling up, down or side to side as you feel that gentle vibration in your finger. The Smart Touch Zone also acts as a second "left mouse button".

Conclusion

Since Apple's devices usually come with good, long-lasting pointing devices, there's not much call for third-party mice. However, if you aren't happy with Apple's Magic Mouse or want to replace a trackpad with a mouse, Rapoo has created a colorful, functional and affordable mouse that provides good feedback. Just watch out for that faux keyboard setup alert when you plug in the dongle, OK?

Rating: 3 stars out of 4 stars possible

Giveaway

Someone out there wants and needs a new mouse, which is why we're giving away our review device (batteries not included). Here are the rules for the giveaway:

Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.

The entry must be made before March 10, 2014 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.

You may enter only once.

One winner will be selected and will receive a Rapoo T120P Wireless Touch Mouse valued at $59.99

Thirty years ago last Friday, Steve Jobs unveiled the Mac at Apple's annual shareholders meeting. In light of this momentous anniversary, a never-before-seen video has emerged showcasing Jobs, just a few days later, demoing the Mac to a public audience for the first time.

Harry McCracken of Time was able to track down the following video, which features Jobs, along with key members of the original Macintosh team, presenting, showing off and demoing the Mac to The Boston Computer Society in late January 1984.

Touting the Mac as the third computing industry milestone, Jobs was all smiles as he showed off Apple's latest creation. Dripping with nostalgia, the video is a must-watch for anyone with even a passing interest in the history of the Mac.

What's really incredible is that the video really drives home just how revolutionary the Mac was at the time. For instance, when Bill Atkinson demos MacPaint, it's really great to see the crowd marvel with applause at graphics functions that we've come to take for granted.

At over an hour and a half, the video is long, but well worth watching in its entirety. There's a whole lot to take in, from Jobs talking about how the Mac was the first computer ever designed to be sold to tens of millions of people to a Q&A session where a panel of Apple employees (including Woz and Andy Hertzfeld) fields questions as far ranging as the future of the Apple II, the status of the Apple III and whether or not there will ever be a Mac with more than 128k in one drive.

There's even a question, understandable at the time, asking if the mouse was more of a feature or a handicap. The panel answers that, with experience, they far prefer using a mouse over a keyboard.

Also worth checking out is a great clip (at about the 37:40 mark) of Jobs comparing the revolutionary nature of the Mac to the telephone.

Now, if you go back about a hundred years, to the 1880s, there were approximately [20,000 to 25,000] trained telegraph operators in the United States. And you really could send a telegram between Boston and San Francisco, and it'd take about three or four hours and go through the relay stations. It really worked. And it was a great breakthrough in technology that had been around for about 30 or 40 years.

And there were some people that talked about putting a telegraph machine on every desk in America to improve productivity. Now what those people didn't know was that about the same time, Alexander Graham Bell filed the original patents for the telephone -- a breakthrough in technology. Because putting a telegraph on every desk in America to improve technology wouldn't have worked. People wouldn't have spent the 20 to 40 to a hundred hours to learn Morse code. They just wouldn't have done it.

But with the telephone, within 10 years there were over 200,000 telephones on desks in America. It was a breakthrough, because people already knew how to use it. It performed the same basic function, but radical ease of use. And in addition to just letting you type in the words or click in the words, it let you sing. It let you intone your sentences to really get your meaning across.

We are at that juncture in our industry right now. There are people suggesting that we should put a current generation box on everyone's desk to improve productivity. A telegraph, if you will. And we don't believe that. We don't think it'll work. People will not read those damn 400-page WordStar manuals. They won't carry around these cards in their pockets with 150 slash-W-Zs. They're not going to do it.

And what we think we have here is the first telephone. And in addition to letting you do the old spreadsheets and word processing, it lets you sing. It lets you make pictures. It lets you make diagrams where you cut them and past them into your documents. It lets you put that sentence in Bold Helvetica or Old English, if that's the way you want to express yourself.

There's also a clip (at around the 27-minute mark) where we see trusty ol' Bill Gates singing the Mac's praises.

In the software business, volume is everything. You want to be able to sell into a large set of machines. Microsoft is choosing this Apple Macintosh environment because over time the other environments won't be interesting

Make sure to watch the video and remember to head on over to Time, where McCracken details how he was able to get ahold of the rare video clip in the first place. It's quite a story.

Gaming mice typically fall into one of two categories: Overly intricate, button-covered monstrosities designed for MMO players that need as many input options as physically possible, and more modest designs that cater to gamers who want comfort, ergonomics, and hopefully a headache-free experience. The SteelSeries Rival falls into the latter category, and while its black-on-black aesthetic isn't immediately the most eye-catching thing in the room, it has a few hidden talents that make it well worth checking out.

The Rival is the latest completely new design from SteelSeries, so it won't feel like anything you've ever used before. On first touch, the middle and rear of the device feel surprisingly large, but after few hours of usage it becomes clear that the fat-bottom design makes the Rival much more comfortable to hold for long periods of time. Now, rather than the Rival feeling too large for its own good, it feels just right, and my other mice feel undersized and even inadequate.

The sides of the Rival feature rubberized grips and, along with the matte finish of the top of the mouse, the entire thing has a great grip to it, with no thumb or finger slippage. Between the primary mouse buttons you'll find a familiar notched scroll wheel which, to my disappointment, isn't weighted.

The only major non-traditional additions to the mouse are a pair buttons on the left side of the mouse that can be reached with your thumb. They're a little bit high for me when it comes to quick activation, but they're close enough to my thumb's natural range that it's not uncomfortable to reach for them.

Before plugging it into your computer, the Rival is unassuming in looks, but once it's powered on you'll see a pair of colored LEDs lighting both the scroll wheel and the SteelSeries logo on the body of the mouse. These LEDs can be programed in a wide range of colors and behaviors. This is pure eye candy and I can't help but enjoy the colorful display on my desk even when I'm not using the Rival for gaming.

There's even a small nameplate situated at the rear of the mouse that can be swapped out for a custom one if you happen to have access to a 3D printer. If not, the default one reads simply "Rival."

Functionality

The SteelSeries Rival has a 1ms response rate and is capable of sensitivity range from 50 CPI to 6500 CPI (counts per inch) so you'll never have a problem finding the perfect feel for whatever game or application you happen to be using.

Using the SteelSeries Engine 3 software you can tweak these settings, set up special profiles for different users or applications, customize button inputs, and adjust the lighted accents. It's a very simple program that doesn't needlessly complicate the customization process.

Conclusion

I had zero issues with the mouse, either in terms of its fit and finish or its functionality and features. Setting it up was painless and the lighting options and luxurious design make it a treat to have on your desk. The customization software is as streamlined as you could ever hope for and it remains comfortable to use for even the longest marathon gaming sessions.

I would have liked to see a weighted scroll wheel and slightly more generous placement of the bonus buttons on the left side of the mouse, but these are relatively minor gripes for what is overall a near perfect design.

Perhaps you're a long-time PC gamer, but the massive marketing campaigns waged by Microsoft and Sony have had the desired effect, and you've taken the next-gen plunge. But in doing so, must you exchange your mad mouse and keyboard skills for the clumsy controls offered by DualShock and Xbox controllers? Nay! For a new XIM adapter is here to hook your PC peripherals to your Xbox One or PlayStation 4, providing you the precision PC control you're accustomed to -- and allow you to use your existing Bluetooth or USB headsets to work with those consoles too.

This newest XIM currently works with Xbox One, and you can see a video of a prototype device being used to play on Call of Duty: Ghosts after the break. Aside from bringing next-gen compatibility, XIM4 also has a companion app that lets you configure your controls wirelessly with your Android device running 2.3.3 and up -- as opposed to the old adapters that required you to wire them up to a PC to do so. You see, for XIM's tech to work, users must download a different profile for every game, as each title has its own control quirks -- but as new games come out, the app prompts users automatically to download the latest profiles. The XIM4 won't be released until next year, but a beta will be opening up soon to folks who own a XIM Edge (the previous-gen XIM that works with Xbox 360 and PS3), and work is ongoing to get it functioning with Sony's DualShock 4. Stay tuned.

45 years ago today, an engineer named Douglas Engelbart unveiled to the world, for the first time, the very first computer mouse.

The unveiling came in the form of a 90 minute demo at the Fall Joint Computer Conference. Engelbart's presentation is regarded as being so epic and influential that it's now referred to as the "Mother of All Demos." It even has its own dedicated Wikipedia page.

Engelbart's first mouse prototype was a bulky wooden contraption with two wheels located on its underside. Engelbart spent about 4-5 years working on his mouse idea before showing it off to the world on December 9, 1968.

Engelbart applied for a patent for the device in 1967, though back then it referred to it as an "x-y position indicator."

The patent reads in part:

An X-Y position indicator control for movement by the hand over any surface to move a cursor over the display on a cathode ray tube, the indicator control generating signals indicating its position to cause a cursor to be displayed on the tube at the corresponding position.

The computer mouse, like many other technologies and innovations, may not have been invented by Apple but was nonetheless thrust into the mainstream via an Apple product. Though the first computer to ship with a mouse was a Xerox workstation from 1981, it wasn't until Apple rolled out the Mac in 1984 that the mouse became a mainstream input device for computing. The Lisa, released in early 1983, also had a mouse but was so expensive that it never became a popular computer.

While Apple helped the mouse became a household product, the company's mouse offerings haven't always been top notch. For instance, Apple has long clung to the notion of a one-button mouse, thought it eventually introduced right-click functionality when it released the Mighty Mouse in 2005.

Speaking of the Mighty Mouse, it featured a scroll wheel that would all too often "stick" on account of dust and/or dirt buildup. Still, it was eons better than the ill-fated and poorly received Hockey Puck mouse Apple introduced alongside the first iMac.

Remember this bad boy?

Today, iMacs ship with a wireless Magic Mouse that is as sleek as it is functional. I only wish Apple would add the ability to activate Exposé from the mouse itself, a feature that was once possible via the side buttons on the Mighty Mouse.

There may be no singular computer accessory that better symbolizes each era of Apple computing than the mouse. From the Lisa to the Magic, each Apple mouse can bring back the feel of each generation, and a delightful website from designer Josh Bader is a lovely way to enjoy a jolt of that nostalgia without digging through your vintage computer parts.

The site, which is titled simply "Apple Mice" showcases gorgeous renderings of each mouse on a clean background. As you navigate from one mouse to the next, the devices transform into each other thanks to the magic of the site's CSS construction. It's a fantastic example of CSS coding, but it's an even better retro Apple tribute.

There are some people who just won't use a trackpad, even when the pad is built into a laptop like your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. For those folks, there are a lot of cheap USB and Bluetooth mice, but many of them are either designed primarily for use with Windows machines or -- in the case of Apple's own Magic Mouse -- somewhat bulky. Logitech has the perfect solution for those who love both laptops and mice in the new Ultrathin Touch Mouse T631 for Mac (US$69.99).

Apple's Magic Mouse weighs 3.8 ounces (107.7 grams), while the Ultrathin Touch Mouse weighs just 2.4 ounces (68 grams). The Ultrathin Touch Mouse is smaller in size than the Magic Mouse as well; while Apple's mouse is 4.5" long x 2.25" wide x .75" at its thickest point, the Logitech mouse is just 3.375" long x 2.31" wide x .625" at its thickest.

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Like the Apple device, the Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse uses Bluetooth to connect to your Mac. But the Logitech mouse has the ability to be paired to two different Macs -- say, a work MacBook and a home iMac. To switch between the two, there's a simple toggle switch on the bottom of the mouse.

Rather than using disposable or rechargeable AA batteries like the Apple mouse, Logitech's rodent has a built-in rechargeable battery. There's a standard micro-USB port on the bottom for charging, and if you happen to run out of charge while working, Logitech says that just a minute of charging can give you up to an hour of mouse usage.

To get all of the features of the Magic Mouse's touch-sensitive surface, you must install Logitech's free Preference Manager app. That app provides right and middle clicks, swipe left/right to go between pages or full-screen apps, swipe up and down for scrolling, and more.

Looks-wise, the Ultrathin Touch Mouse is a nice match for any Mac. The sides are aluminum, while the top is white with a very discreet Logitech logo. There's also a tiny LED that flashes blue when pairing is underway, and turns green to indicate that power has been switched on.

How does it feel? Well, Apple's Magic Mouse has a pretty good feel and is designed to fit an average-sized hand. Your entire hand takes part in moving it around. With the Ultrathin Touch Mouse, just the fingers on your "mouse hand" are involved in moving the mouse around. For me it took just a few moments to get used to the feel of the Ultrathin Touch Mouse.

Conclusion

The Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse T631 is perfect for any Mac user and especially for those who want a compact and lightweight Bluetooth mouse that they can toss into a bag alongside a MacBook.

Pros

Very lightweight and streamlined design

Provides a very positive click response

Built-in rechargeable battery; no need to swap out batteries

Can be paired to two different Macs with easy switching between devices

Has a number of surface touch gestures that it responds to, all controlled by the Logitech Preference Manager app

Just a buck more expensive than Apple's Magic Mouse

Cons

Might be "too small" for those who are used to the larger Apple Magic Mouse

Who is it for?

Anyone who has a Mac or two and would like a compact, rechargeable Bluetooth mouse with a touch surface

Giveaway

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.

The entry must be made before October 3, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.

You may enter only once.

One winner will be selected and will receive a Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse T631 valued at $69.99

One year ago today, Mists of Pandaria launched in the US and EU. It hardly feels like a year has gone by! In celebration of Mists of Pandaria's one-year anniversary, game gear specialists SteelSeries are hosting one heck of a sale on all World of Warcraft gear, marking it all 50% off for the next 24 hours or so. This includes both the SteelSeries World of Warcraft Legendary Edition mouse, and the World of Warcraft Wireless MMO Mouse, as well as a selection of QcK mousepads designed with Mists of Pandaria in mind.

At 50% off, these gaming peripherals are an absolute steal -- and this presents a perfect opportunity to snag some gear for yourself, or get that holiday shopping for your favorite gamer out of the way a little early this year. But if you want to get your hands on the goods, better hurry -- the sale ends tomorrow, September 26, at 11:59pm GMT. Head over to SteelSeries official website to get your fill of Warcraft gear.

Yeahhhh, it's a good thing that those USB mice operate at a low voltage and current, since Gorky the cat has apparently decided that the "tail" of this mouse was good enough to eat. Gorky's human Jeffrey H. let us know that this was the first time that he had caught a mouse...

We'd love to see photos of your favorite feline soaking up the warmth of an Apple product, chasing a Magic Mouse, or just being a general nuisance while you're attempting to work on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Please let us know via our feedback page and please remember that your cat photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple or its products. For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link.

We've seen most of Logitech's latest products by way of press shots, but the company was clearly waiting for IFA to trot out the real deals. We caught the peripheral maker as it was in the process of setting of its booth for the show and got a quick tour of what it's working on. First up, the company's giving a little folio love to Android tablet owners, releasing a keyboard case for the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 and protective cases for the 10.1, 8.0 and 7.0. We also got a chance to check out that beefy G602 wireless gaming mouse, which'll give you around 250 hours of gaming on a charge. Speaking of mice, the Ultrathin Touch Mouse is a pretty nice looking peripheral -- one that pairs pretty nicely with its TK820 keyboard. Images below and press info for all of the above after the break. %Gallery-slideshow79677%

Some people just cannot stand trackpads. My wife is one of those people, and every time I sit down at her iMac I just roll my eyes in disgust. She's using a 6-year-old wireless mouse (Logitech, no less) that is ergonomic and all that, but it doesn't even have a touch surface on it like Apple's Magic Mouse. Well, I think it's time for me to think about buying her a replacement, since Logitech just announced the Ultrathin Touch Mouse T631 for Mac (US$69.99).

The lines of the T631 are meant to be similar to the thin lines of a MacBook Air, and the Bluetooth mouse can be used on multiple Macs using Logitech's Easy-Switch technology. The top is touch-sensitive, and the battery life is so good (10 days on a full charge based on a typical use) that if it's getting low, plugging the T631 into a USB port for one minute will give it another hour of life.

The Ultrathin Touch Mouse is available for pre-order now, and we'll have a full review of it in the very near future.

Many portable mice are fairly chunky, which can be tricky when you've got a slim bag packed with an Ultrabook or a MacBook Air. Logitech's set out to solve this problem with its $70 Ultrathin Touch mouse. The aluminum-clad pointing device features an ultra-svelte wedge design with a smooth top for touch gestures. A flick of a switch on the mouse lets you switch between two Bluetooth-connected devices and a one-minute charge over USB gives it enough juice to last about one hour. The Ultrathin Touch Mouse will arrive in black this September and in white come November.

Hate swapping out the drained batteries in your mouse during intense Battlefield sessions? Then Logitech's vying for your dough with its new G602 wireless gaming mouse. The latest G-series entrant's battery is rated for 250 hours in gaming mode, and up to a whopping 1,100 1,400 on its endurance setting. Around the mouse you'll find 11 buttons, all of which are assignable via Logitech's Gaming Software. As you'd expect, this kit also features the company's ultra-fast 4,000 DPI Delta Zero optical sensor and a minuscule wireless USB dongle for computer hookup. The G602 is set to launch in September for $80, alongside the $30 G440 Hard Gaming Mouse Pad for "high-DPI gaming" and the $20 G240 Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad for "low-DPI gaming." You'll find the press info after the break. %Gallery-slideshow73529%

Microsoft has pursued ever more exoticshapes in the name of comfort. Its new Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop might just take the cake, however. The all-wireless bundle's centerpiece, the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, centers around a U-shaped layout that keeps wrists in more natural positions; there's also a cushioned palm rest and a separate number pad. Its companion Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse, meanwhile, relies on a gently sloped design that allows for a Start screen shortcut and a tilting scroll wheel. Both the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop and a stand-alone version of the mouse should ship this month at respective prices of $130 and $60, while the keyboard will fly solo this September for $81.

If your forearms don't need quite so much coddling, Microsoft is also putting its Sculpt Comfort Keyboard and Sculpt Comfort Mouse together in one kit. The not-so-creatively titled Sculpt Comfort Desktop (shown after the break) drops the number pad and uses more conventional shapes across the board, with the exception of the mouse's swipe-driven touch tab. We suspect many who buy the Comfort Desktop this month will most like its $80 price -- it's a better deal than the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop for those who only need the fundamentals.

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bundlekeyboardmicrosoftmouseperipheralssculptcomfortdesktopsculptcomfortkeyboardsculptcomfortmousesculptergonomicdesktopsculptergonomickeyboardsculptergonomicmouseTue, 13 Aug 2013 12:00:00 -040021|20693074http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/08/04/the-naga-2013-improving-on-a-classic-by-degrees/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
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One of the hardest things to do is look at something you've created and try to make it better. Because sometimes you can't.

I first picked up a Razer Naga back when I was first working at Massively, mostly because it suited my piloting style in Star Trek Online. Once I had it in my hand, I never wanted to let it go. It was small, which was a welcome fact for someone with small hands. It had a useful thumb-pad for keys that felt comfortable and intuitive. It was responsive, it was attractive, it was everything I could want from a gaming mouse.

Of course, the Naga was getting a bit long in the tooth. So it got redesigned. I was sent a review copy of the mouse to take for a spin, to see if this new edition of the product was nearly as good as the existing mouse that I've been using for nearly four years. Is the new Naga a worthy inheritor, or did something beautiful get ruined by a redo?

If you spend hours immersed in MMO raids, you likely value anything that helps you click faster. It's a good thing that Razer has just overhauled its Naga mouse, then. The 2014 model year now uses mechanical switches for its signature 12 side buttons, offering clearer feedback with each press. There's also a new tilting scroll wheel, in-game customization software and a tweaked grip that should fit a wider selection of hands. That includes left hands, we'd add -- Razer is shipping its promised left-handed Naga alongside the regular model. No matter your input preferences, you can buy the new RPG-friendly mouse today for $80.